WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 525: Epilogue 1: The Zeroth World (9)

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Yu Junghyeok staggered and braced himself on his sword. His eyes were turning transparent. Exhausted by the long battle, he was slowly losing his sight.

"If I chose you as my Patron, would I be able to see what you look like?"

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation shakes his head.]

"Where the hell are you? All the stars of the Star Stream have fallen, so where are you watching me from?"

Junghyeok continued to mutter.

"No, actually, I know. You are... beyond that 'wall.'"

I couldn't say anything. I had never imagined that Junghyeok of the zeroth round had realized that much.

Junghyeok continued.

"There was something strange about this world."

It was an aged voice I had never heard from him before.

"One day, I suddenly came to exist in this world."

A man who had suddenly come to exist in this world.

"Without any memories of my childhood, I was suddenly thrown into the world and lived my life. I drifted from one illegal worksite to another, then caught a supervisor's eye by chance and became a Pro Gamer. Then one day, someone left me with a girl, saying she was my little sister."

A life made for convenience. Hardship created to become tragedy.

"I searched for my parents once. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find them. Even people who could uncover the president's hidden children couldn't find my parents. As if they had never existed in this world to begin with."

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation...]

"Answer me, Demon King of Salvation. Who am I?"

My heart lurched. The fact that Junghyeok had finally reached that question hurt me.

I had to say something. Anything...

"Is this world's secret beyond that wall where you are?"

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation asks if you aren't happy now.]

"I am happy."

Junghyeok answered without a moment's hesitation.

"That is why I'm even more curious about what lies beyond that wall."

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation...]

"I want to know the nature of the favor you've shown me. I want to know what my life's meaning is, where I was born, and why I came here. If I had another chance..."

Somewhere, I heard something like the ticking of clock hands.

「Kim Dok ja」

I couldn't show Junghyeok what lay beyond the wall. Even if I was the Oldest Dream, that was impossible. Junghyeok kept speaking.

"You once told me that if I made a Behind-the-Scenes Contract with you, you would grant me anything I wanted. I didn't accept your offer then because I was suspicious. But if it isn't too late now..."

Junghyeok's fingers wandered through the air and found the log message that had reached him long ago.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation wishes to become your Patron.]

[Will you accept the offer?]

"I'll accept your offer now."

A wave of dizziness swept over me, and everything around me began to shake violently.

I called for [The Fourth Wall].

'The Fourth Wall.'

「No」

It already knew what I was going to say.

The condition Junghyeok needed to cross [The Final Wall] was to gather every Final Wall Fragment.

But [The Fourth Wall] had no intention of transferring itself to Junghyeok.

Gritting my teeth, I sent him a message.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation says he cannot grant that.]

"Why?"

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation says that it is a very difficult path.]

"Difficult?"

If I couldn't give Junghyeok [The Fourth Wall], there was only one way for him to see the conclusion.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation says that you must undergo Regression to cross the wall.]

"Regression?"

Tzzzzzt.

Sparks of Plausibility spread across my entire body.

The worldline was speaking to me.

It told me that I couldn't reveal this, that it was information the current Junghyeok must never know.

Still, I bit my lip hard and shook off the worldline's resistance. Even if I had to sacrifice more Plausibility, I wanted to show him the truth.

「1864」

"1864? What does that mean?"

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation says that it is the number of times you must regress to see the conclusion.]

Every memory I had lived through was unfolding as fables.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation says that even if you live through all those regressions, the chance that you will see the conclusion is extremely low.]

The current Junghyeok had even strayed from the original worldline.

He was no longer the Junghyeok from the original work.

The branches of time had split, and the future had vanished.

Even if he reached the 1,864th round, there was no guarantee that he would meet Kim Dokja, who possessed [The Fourth Wall]...

「There i s」

What?

「Just e rase the memories of this rou nd」

A chill ran down my spine.

「What if we gave him the memory fragment of the zeroth round that remained in the original work, then sent Junghyeok to the next round?」

Then the worldline would consider this Junghyeok to be the Junghyeok of the original work.

He would be incorporated into the original worldline again, living through the first and second rounds after forgetting the memories of this life.

「But Yu Junghyeok will become unhappy again.」

「Why are you the one de ci d ing th at?」

I slowly raised my head. Junghyeok was speaking.

"I don't care if the possibility is low."

[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok has accepted your offer.]

"If I can live another life, if I can see the conclusion with my own hands, if I can discover this world's secret..."

[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok has become your Incarnation.]

The fables began their stories, and the constellations were linking together.

[Your Incarnation is waiting for your words.]

I remained silent for a long time. Then I made my decision.

There was no choice but to tell him now.

After slowly steadying my breath, I opened my mouth.

[Yu Junghyeok.]

It was a constellation's declaration I hadn't spoken in a long time. Terrifying sparks raged around us. Though I had suppressed the energy waves to a minimum, it was still this powerful.

Junghyeok opened his eyes wide and looked up at the sky.

"Is that your real voice?"

[Yes.]

"I can hear it clearly."

Junghyeok, whose hearing was slowly fading, muttered to himself. Faint wrinkles spread across his aged face. I looked away and spoke.

[I can make you regress. But if you do, I won't be able to help you from the next round onward.]

The only way to make Junghyeok reject this offer was to tell him the truth.

[You will have to make your way through the Scenarios completely on your own strength. Those Scenarios will be far more brutal than you think. At the conclusion you finally reach, you might encounter something you don't want.]

I thought of Junghyeok.

I thought of the sorrow of the third round, the grief of the fourth round, and Secretive Plotter's despair.

[And if you choose Regression... you won't be able to take most of this round's memories with you.]

Junghyeok inhaled softly at those words. No matter how firm his resolve was, accepting this wouldn't be easy.

[Only fragmentary memories of the Scenarios will remain with you.]

"..."

[It means everything precious to you will disappear. Lee Seolhwa, Lee Hyeongseong, Lee Jihye, everyone you remember, all of them...]

"Just because I forget them doesn't mean they cease to exist."

I closed my mouth.

"They are certainly living in this world."

「They are certainly living in this world.」

Like an engraving, those words struck somewhere inside my mind.

It felt as though a massive Fate was crashing down on me.

「At that moment, Kim Dokja realized that this was the completion of the zeroth round.」

Why there were no traces of the Oldest Dream in the zeroth round. Why Junghyeok could still move on to the first and second rounds. Perhaps it was because...

[Damn bastard.]

I brought my hands together and used the dream power gathered within me. The Plausibility Backlash rushing in hurt so badly that I thought one of my arms would twist apart.

I recalled every round of Junghyeok's that I knew. Gathering the lives he would live and the fables I knew, I created a single Stigma.

The Stigma that would become this world's driving force and cause all of Junghyeok's tragedies.

[The Stigma Regression has been created!]

[Your Stigma has been passed on to your Incarnation!]

Junghyeok accepted the Stigma as if he were satisfied.

[The activation of Stigma Regression Lv.1 is being prepared.]

"You said earlier that I would lose my memories."

[Yes.]

"Will I forget things about you too?"

I hesitated before answering. Junghyeok asked again.

"Even the helpful information you told me?"

[Yes.]

"I see."

[If you regret this, even now...]

"You said you wouldn't help me from the next round onward."

[I can't help you.]

"It's fine if you help."

[I said I can't.]

"I heard that not only Incarnations, but Constellations also have Scenarios. Perhaps you do as well."

[...]

"If I keep regressing, could I meet you one day?"

I couldn't say anything. It was the rambling of someone who knew nothing. The words of a foolish Junghyeok from the zeroth round, unable to understand any meaning or future.

Along with the words that went unspoken, Junghyeok's ears were disappearing.

「The night sky was reflected in Junghyeok's eyes.」

Like a child curious about the source of his birth, Junghyeok stretched out his hand toward the sky where the wall must be.

One day, he would become Secretive Plotter, and at the same time, he would become the Junghyeok of the 1,864th round that I knew.

He would come to resent me, and he would reach this world's truth.

[Stigma Regression Lv.1 has been activated!]

[You have agreed to the Stigma's activation.]

Junghyeok's body began scattering little by little. His arms, legs, and torso followed.

At the final moment, Junghyeok called to me.

An aged Yu Junghyeok dies after clearing every scenario in the zeroth turn

"Demon King of Salvation."

With a strange and mysterious expression, he said,

"I hope you keep living somewhere too."

Junghyeok's Incarnation body, scattering into silver dust, was leaving this worldline.

[The Overwrite of this worldline will not affect the character Yu Junghyeok's next round.]

[Your Incarnation has forgotten your modifier.]

[Your Incarnation has forgotten memories related to you.]

[All information about you has been processed as ???.]

The memories that could not be recorded anywhere would now disappear forever.

Then where would those memories go?

I watched that glimmer for a long time.

* * *

"Hey, Junghyeok! Why aren't you answering?"

Whack.

A blow to the back of Junghyeok's head made him stagger.

When he turned around, Han Suyeong was standing there with a frown.

"I asked how this Group Regression thing works."

"I suddenly remembered something."

"What?"

With a foolish expression, Junghyeok muttered to Suyeong.

"The memories of the zeroth round."

Footnotes:

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